PIERRE, S.D. -- The following is a statement from State Insurance Director Merle Scheiber on the Obama Administration's announcement regarding policy cancellations and the role of state insurance regulators:

"The South Dakota Division of Insurance will allow healthcare insurers the flexibility to extend current plans in 2014. The decision came down to protecting South Dakotans who would have lost their health insurance coverage through no fault of their own, even though the federal government is only allowing this flexibility for an additional year."